My parents owned a<\/b> butcher shop in South Tyrol, Italy, then a poor area. They worked hard to give us a good life. My earliest memory is of sitting behind the till, my father cutting meat. I learned quickly that if you want to get somewhere, you have to work. And that I didn\u2019t want to be a butcher.<\/p>\n
F1 racing was a lot more<\/b> dangerous in the 1970s. I loved the heroism, drama and danger.<\/p>\n
My mid-20s were very happy<\/b>. I had no family and fewer responsibilities. I was going around the world to countries I never thought I\u2019d go to as a kid and working with rally cars. I was living life to its fullest.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not an angry person<\/b>, but I do get very emotional when in a competition. I stay calm for a long time and when it gets too much, I flip \u2013 it\u2019s like a switch, and something takes over. Otherwise, I\u2019m thoughtful and calm.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be afraid of confrontation<\/b>. Life should be about speaking your mind. You have to accept it if someone doesn\u2019t agree with you. Don\u2019t talk about people \u2013 talk to people.<\/p>\n
When I\u2019m at home<\/b>, I\u2019m at home. I don\u2019t go out with friends. My social network isn\u2019t big. I wouldn\u2019t call myself a romantic, but my wife and I do lots together. When you\u2019re married for 30 years, there are highs and lows, but you go through them together.<\/p>\n
My greatest regret is not<\/b> having children earlier. My daughter is 16, and I\u2019m 60. Looking back, I would have done that differently, to give us more time together.<\/p>\n
I was on fire once in Kenya<\/b>. We were refuelling the car and it set alight. I was a little burned: hair, eyebrows… One guy was badly injured. I ripped my clothes off and extinguished myself.<\/p>\n
Setting up an F1 team<\/b>, Haas, is my greatest achievement. I started from a piece of paper on my kitchen table, wrote a business plan, then I achieved it. At heart, it\u2019s about teamwork: some jobs are more important than others at different moments, but no one is above the team.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a pretty restless person<\/b>. I\u2019m always doing something. I cannot sit still, doing nothing.<\/p>\n
You have to stop for selfies<\/b>. There are worse things to do in life than spending 10 seconds to take a picture with somebody who\u2019s a fan. Fame isn\u2019t something I hate. I always need to be aware now that wherever I am, there\u2019s probably someone who knows me so I better not do anything stupid.<\/p>\n
Nobody likes to get older<\/b>, but I’ll be happy as long as I stay healthy. I try to stay young in my head. If you fall behind, you\u2019re quite quickly out of touch with what\u2019s happening in the world.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to be remembered<\/b> as a good person, a fair person, who had respect for people. I\u2019m not here to be the biggest or the greatest.<\/p>\n
Photo by Kym Illman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n